This Week in GIFs: NLCS Edition

GIFs and baseball go together like lamb and tuna fish. The intricacies of the sport, the physics and inches involved in every action lend itself perfectly to the basement art. That is never more true than the playoffs, where the spotlight is focused on one game at a time. The best GIFers are focused on that game, and at their disposal come many more camera angles and framespeeds than are available in a standard broadcast.

That led to some memorable GIFs from the past week during the 7-game NLCS between the Giants and Cardinals. Unfortunately to enjoy them, you'll have to watch some happy Giants. I nominate six for the most memorable GIF of the NLCS.

1) Marco Scutaro's Oscar Moment

If you want to win an Oscar for a drama, don't you have to stand in a rainstorm at the apex of the film's climax?

via Grant Brisbee

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2) Yadier Molina's Pencil Waggle

Every one of us had the same moment at some point in elementary school. Someone showed us that you can hold the end of a pencil and rapidly move the held end rapidly and slightly, resulting in a rapid radial motion of the pencil. Our eyes trick us into thinking the rigid pencil became a floppy noodle. It was so goddamn cool. It turns out, something similar happens with a baseball bat at times, but it actually happens. Physics Professor Emeritus Alan Nathan of the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) has a 5000 frames/sec gif of Yadier Molina's noodle.

Read up on the physics of it here.

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3) Hunter Pence's Triple-Hit Single

Remember when Troy Tulowitzki got a hit when his bat hit the pitch twice in one forward swing? That was pretty cool, but Hunter Pence managed to do one better. He got a broken bat hit when his bat hit the pitch three times, with the outgoing velocity of the batted ball increasing noticeably on all three points of impact. Whoa.

via Grant Brisbee

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4) Sergio Romo is Excited

This one is mesmerizing. Romo is so repetitive and rhythmic with his glove pounding that your eyes ignore the advancing Buster Posey and believe that this GIF is one second long and repeating itself. 90% of the way through, boom, a punch in the balls.

Via Chris Quick of Bay City Ball

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5) Descalso Flubs One

The St. Louis Cardinals' defense was a huge sore spot for fans of the Redbirds in the series, so naturally, there needs to be a gif of a Cardinal sin on defense. "Descalso" is roughly translated as "shoeless," which would certainly decrease effectiveness on defense. Here is a GIF of Daniel Descalso being hit in the face by a ground ball on a dive.

Via Chris Quick of Bay City Ball

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6) Angel Pagan Ready to Erupt

I'm not sure what god someone named Angel Pagan would pray to, but he appears to be on his knees willing Marco Scutaro to catch that final out of the NLCS.

via Grant Brisbee

This post is sponsored by Jack in the Box.